Collecting stuff comes naturally to geeks, from comic books to locks of hair from Star Wars actors. For decades, we trolled through conventions for that elusive X-Men issue or Anthony Daniel’s silver tresses. The internet changed all that with the creation of eBay in 1995. eBay gave geeks, and some normal people but mostly geeks, and chance to spend their hard earned money in the hopes of getting mailed something they wanted. eBay encouraged the Long Tail of geek hobbies, giving anybody a chance to clean out their garage in the hopes of finding someone else’s treasure. The fun of eBay auctions have started wearing off, but the nostalgia is still sinking in.
Tags: ebay, geek moment
1 Comment
July 16, 2008 at 8:11 am
NERRRRD.
Seriously, though, you’re completely right. But you can’t ignore that eBay has become a JOB for many . . . one-man operations retailing goods (good that they themselves most likely use) through the internet. And there’s a whole underworld of livejournal-and-paypal based commerce that self-moderates with trusted and not-trusted buyers and sellers, like it’s own little ecosystem.